Macondo Latin Bistro

Macondo Latin Bistro (208 Travis, 713-229-8323) has occupied the spot where Don Diego Coffee and Wine Bar used to be. "The owners are from Colombia, and they wanted to bring Colombian food to downtown," says Ana María Córdoba, the restaurant's marketing manager. "We are a Latin fusion restaurant serving traditional dishes and, while many of the dishes are Colombian, we also have famous Mexican and Cuban dishes, as well."

The restaurant is named for the fictional town that Gabriel García Márquez describes in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Anyone with an appetite should try the Colombian breakfast, consisting of two fried eggs, chorizo, beans and rice, an arepa (round cornbread similar to a Salvadoran pupusa or Mexican gordita) and queso blanco. Eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros and perico (scrambled eggs with scallions) can also be found on the breakfast menu. Lunch includes such classics as sobrebarriga (flank steak), Cuban ropa vieja (shredded beef) and fish tacos. "We also have quite a few paninis, like the Argentina or the Cuban one," says Córdoba. As for entertainment, she says, "We are planning on having live music on weekends, but for now, we're playing lots of Latin music."

Dish sampled a delicious Colombian arepa filled with chorizo, followed by bandeja paisa, a classic Colombian combo consisting of ground beef, pork chicharrón, rice, pinto beans, an arepa and fried plantains, all topped with a fried egg. It is a large dish and a great value at under $10.

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